Chapter 7 Reading Guide
Participation and Voting
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
1. Define the key terms at the end of the chapter
2. Explain how citizens used town hall forums to express discontent about
President Obama’s health care bill in the summer of 2009
3. Distinguish between conventional and unconventional participation, indicating the
categories of each and citing specific examples
4. Explain examples of direct action, differentiating examples of high and low
initiative behaviors, and identifying who is most likely to participate in this form of
political participation
5. Compare and contrast supportive and influencing behaviors, citing examples of
each
6. Compare American political participation with participation in other democracies,
identifying who is most likely to vote in the United States and why
7. Discuss the extension of suffrage to blacks, women, and eighteen-year-olds
8. Explain the nature of the direct primary, recall, initiative and the referendum
9. Account for low voter turnout in the United States and identify successful
methods for improvement, being sure to define the standard socioeconomic
model and the unsolved paradox concerning voter behavior
10. Evaluate the extent to which various forms of political participation enhance
freedom, order and equality
11. Assess the extent to which the various forms of participation fit the pluralist or
majoritarian models of democracy
OUTLINE
I.
Democracy and Political Participation
a. Political Participation
i. Definition
1. Conventional
2. Unconventional
II.
Unconventional Participation
a. Terrorism
b. Protest
c. Direct Action
III.
Conventional Participation
a. Supportive Behavior
i. Action that expresses allegiance to country and government
b. Influencing Behavior
i. Particular benefits
ii. Broad policy objectives
iii. Voter turnour
IV.
Participating through voting
a. Suffrage/ franchise
b. Expansion of suffrage
i. The enfranchisement of blacks
ii. The enfranchisement of women
c. Evaluating the expansion of suffrage in America
d. Voting on Policies
i. Progressivism
1. Direct Primary
2. Recall
3. Referendum
4. Initiative
e. Voting for Candidates
V.
Explaining Political Participation
a. Patterns of Participation over time
i. The standard socioeconomic model
b. Low voter turnout in America
i. The decline in US voting over time
ii. US turnout versus turnout in other countries
VI.
Participation and Freedom, Equality and Order
a. Participation and Freedom
b. Participation and Equality
c. Participation and Order
VII.
Participation and the Models of Democracy
a. Elections socialize political activity
b. Elections institutionalize access to political power
c. Elections bolster the state’s power and authority
d. Participation and majoritarianism
e. Participation and pluralism
KEY TERMS
Political participation, conventional participation, unconventional participation, terrorism,
direct action, supportive behavior, influencing behavior, class action suit, voter turnout,
suffrage, franchise, progressivism, direct primary, recall, referendum, initiative, standard
socioeconomic model